Here’s an incredible and heartwarming story to make your day.
Duque Hebbert, a 21-year-old pitcher on the Nicaragua’s World Baseball Classic roster, earned himself a contract with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball following a short and sweet outing against Dominican Republic on Monday.
In Monday’s game (a 6-1 win for Dominican Republic), Hebbert struck out three of Dominican Republic’s top hitters in Juan Soto (San Diego Padres), Julio Rodríguez (Seattle Mariners) and Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox).
As noted by Front Office Sports, Hebbert has never actually played for an affiliated team of a professional baseball club. But it just took one special outing for him to get noticed and to land his first MLB contract.
Just another awesome example to never give up on your dreams, no matter how big they are. You just never know when they’ll come true.
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Hebbert played the 2022-3 season for Tren del Norte of the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League. He pitched 20 innings and recorded 18 strikeouts.
Nicaragua lost all four round-robin games in Pool D, and their tournament is over. Dominican Republic will meet another top team in Puerto Rico in a win-or-go-home matchup. Dominican Republic is aiming for their second World Baseball Classic championship, having first won it back in 2013.
The Tigers, looking to end a nine-year postseason drought, will open up their 2023 season against the Tampa Bay Rays on Mar. 30. The AL Central club will meet the Boston Red Sox in their home opener on Apr. 6.
